Sunday, August 17, 2008

The perfect imperfect way

Well, we didn't go up the mountain. Not everyone ended up being able to get away. So we had supper, checked in, walked around the neighborhood, talked about our vision for community, and sang and prayed.

We remembered that any community, church, and attempt at living the Christian way, always comes up short. We toasted to imperfection and to loving each other anyway.

In the midst of our singing and sharing about lousy summers, something beyond us seemed to settle in. It was a gentle presence. A palpable spirit of quiet hope. And I was transformed by being there with this presence. It only comes when I am with others.

It doesn’t seem to matter if we are all in despair, threadbare, and wandering around the landscape of our lives dumbfounded. It seems to calm us.

I experience this presence as it returns me to the truest grounding. Expands me beyond myself. This is God to me. And this is Christian community. The “Where ever two or more of you are gathered in my name, there I will be with you,” sort of community.

I can’t really explain it. But it’s why I believe in something more than we can see. And it’s why I keep on this path.

What is Join the Living?

Join the Living seeks to connect our next generations with spiritual practices and community so that they might find their deep joy and become courageous leaders who live with hope and imagination for the sake of the world.

Join the Living is based in Tucson, Arizona. The Rev. Kate Bradsen and Carol Bradsen, M.Div. began Join the Living in the fall of 2007. Join the Living publishes Bread & Oranges magazine, and has hosted events such as The Tucson Christmas Conspiracy and Uprising, an all-night Easter vigil.

Through living into the mission of Join the Living, Kate and Carol were also part of forming The Restoration Project, an ecumenical, intentional community of young ministers and activists who live together near downtown Tucson.

As nifty as our website www.jointheliving.com was, we are just hosting this blog now because, well, this blog is free.